Bittersweet Romance
by cassandra quail
Summary: Three times Poison Ivy wanted to act on her feelings for Harley Quinn, but couldn't... and the first time she finally could. Rated M for sexual content. (Please let me know if you think this rating is inappropriate; I will take the story down.)


Harley Quinn blinked, rubbing the mud off of her face. She glared at Poison Ivy, who was digging in the soil next to her.

"What was that for?" she asked, and Ivy raised an eyebrow. "Right. Of course."

"I thought you had finally found the sense to leave that psychopath," said Ivy coldly.

Harley pouted and dropped her trowel in the muddy flower bed. "What can I say, Red? Guess I just realised that he ain't so bad after all, y'know?"

Ivy simply shook her head. She was in a bad enough mood after being locked back up in Arkham, and didn't want to argue. She was grateful to have been allowed to work in the garden with Harley, but it didn't take long for her to grow tired of hearing about "Mistah J". She hit the ground in front of her far too hard with the trowel, imagining his ghoulish grinning face beneath her. Even after all the time she and Harley had spent together, having fun and caring for one another, Harley was still obsessed with the odious creature.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" asked Harley, putting a lush, leafy plant gently into the hole in front of her.

"I care because I -" The words flowed forcefully from Ivy's mouth, but she realised just in time that some sentences don't need to be finished. _I care because I love you_. She felt herself blush and cleared her dry throat, before trying again. "I just want you to be happy, with someone who respects you." _I respect you, more than he could, and far more than you will ever know._

"I know what I'm doing," said Harley. Her eyes glazed over dreamily. "Mistah J makes me happier than anyone else ever could."

Ivy wasn't sure whether she should feel angry or sad, but Harley's words stung an unreasonable amount. With a defeated, "Whatever you say, Harl," she decided to be quiet for a while, and focus on the beautiful plants in the garden they were creating. At least they would never reject her affection.

* * *

The sun was bright and beautiful in Ivy's greenhouse. She lay back on the lush carpet of grass, surrounded by a thick garden of almost any flower imaginable, from sweet-smelling roses to vicious Venus fly traps. Though her eyes were closed and her breathing even, on the inside she felt anything but tranquil; her blood was rushing wildly through her veins and butterflies danced in her belly. Harley had been released from Arkham asylum the day before, and the two women had planned to celebrate with a girl's night – dinner, a film and, if the mood was right, a little "shopping" spree.

Ivy had found herself full of an unusual energy as she cleaned her hideout and got everything ready. Dinner, a rich, aromatic vegetable stew, was on the stove ready to reheat; two sparkling glasses sat on the dining table ready for the bottle of white wine in the fridge; Ivy was a complete nervous wreck inside. Yes, everything was ready.

_Calm down, Ivy,_ she scolded herself, wondering what it was about this one little human that could so completely break down her otherwise impenetrable defences. She exhaled slowly. The wait was excruciating.

When the doorbell finally did ring, Ivy nearly jumped out of her skin. She leapt to her feet, took a deep breath, and walked calmly to the door, trying to pretend that she didn't suddenly feel so shy and nervous.

"Hey, Red," came Harley's voice, a little flatly, as she opened the door. "I'm sorry for..." She gestured towards her torn and dirty costume.

Ivy's girlish butterflies were replaced by a sense of dread. "What happened, Harl? You've only been out a day. Come on in, let's get you cleaned up."

Harley shuffled inside, her big blue eyes full of sadness, fixed on the floor. She sighed and flopped down on the sofa in the living room while Ivy went to fetch her a facecloth. As she waited, she twiddled the tatters of fabric hanging from her costume hoping her friend wouldn't be too angry with her.

"So, tell me all about it," said Ivy, smoothly sitting next to her and pressing the damp cloth into her hands.

"Aw, y'know... Trouble with Mistah J," she said with a wince, wiping the make-up off of her face.

"_Fuck 'Mistah J'," said Ivy, pushing herself upwards and turning around to straddle the blonde. Deep blue eyes looked at her questioningly, before Harley grabbed her and kissed her urgently, running her delicate hands through her thick read hair..._

Ivy cleared her throat. _Get it together, Pamela!_ She gently took hold of Harley's hand and, despite her frustration, she said, "If you want to talk about it, I'm here. Or if you want to forget all about him..."

Harley smiled briefly. "How's about we just watch a movie? I ain't too hungry right now."

Neither was Ivy, but she didn't say that.

"I'll get the wine, Harl, and we can just have a nice night in, okay?"

"Okay," whispered Harley.

* * *

"Perfect!" exclaimed Ivy, as Harley returned with a bag full of priceless old jewellery draped over her trademark mallet.

"You get your plant... Stuff?" asked Harley, and Ivy nodded happily, cradling the botanical samples to her chest with a satisfied smile. "Let's get outta here then!"

The two women crept along the long, shadowy corridor towards the part of the museum that was open to the public. There was a rope hanging down from the skylight which they had used to get in, and Ivy hurried Harley up.

As she emerged into the cool night air, Ivy became aware of a movement in the shadows behind her. She whipped her head around, heart beating fast, but there was nobody there. Harley stepped forward, oblivious, only to find herself face to face with Batman.

"Not so fast, ladies," came the deep, grim voice of the Dark Knight. Ivy spun back around to face him.

Harley couldn't prevent a giggle escaping her lips. "Oh yeah?"

"Move back, Harley!" Ivy tossed a seed to the floor. It landed at Batman's feet and immediately sprouted thick vines which curled around his ankles, tripping him over. He landed heftily on the concrete roof, and Harley nodded at Ivy approvingly.

"Get him, Harl, before he gets up!" shouted Ivy.

Dodging a batarang, Harley jumped gracefully over to the tangle of vines and grinned at the struggling masked face. The mallet collided with Batman's head with a sickening _thunk_, and he stopped moving.

Ivy grinned and Harley bounded over for a high-five.

"Not bad, Harl," she said with an admiring smile. "Now, let's get out of here."

She took the harlequin's hand and they ran over to the fire escape at the other side of the roof. Adrenaline was still pumping through her body and Ivy was hyper-aware of the warmth of the other woman's hand in hers. They stopped just shy of the metal ladder, and Harley caught the disarmingly bright green eyes looking at her. She felt a warm shiver in the small of her back and her eyes flickered over the full lips and smooth cheeks in front of her. It could have been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn the soft green skin had an unusual glow to it tonight. Ivy felt herself melting at her proximity to the other woman, and in a brief moment of madness she closed the gap between their lips.

Harley drew back in surprise. "Whatcha doin', Red?"

There was definitely an unusual glow to Ivy's cheeks as she stammered, "I-I'm sorry."

Harley reached up and brushed a strand of red hair out of the way, before slowly leaning in and kissing her properly. Ivy felt as though an unknown force was pulling her towards Harley, and wanted nothing more than to lay her down, rip her clothes off and have her there and then, but part of her brain knew they needed to get away from the museum before any more of the Bat family had time to show up.

"When we get back Harley..."

The harlequin giggled. "When we get back what?" she teased. "Whatcha gonna do to me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," said Ivy coyly, though her crotch was positively aching for the other woman.

"I can hardly wait," said Harley with a grin, as she lowered herself onto the fire escape. She happily climbed down the ladder, biting her lip as she gazed upwards at the woman following her. Unfortunately Ivy's skin-tight leafy leotard proved a little too distracting; Harley absent-mindedly put her foot on a broken rung of the ladder and slipped. The force of her drop left her dangling one-handed, some fifteen feet above the concrete ground.

"Ivy? Help?" she called, her voice a little high with panic. She struggled to get her footing again, but the cold metal bar slipped out of her fingers.

Ivy swore as she saw Harley land on her feet before falling backwards. There was a crash and a clunk as she fell into a couple of dustbins, and Ivy rushed down the ladder as quickly and carefully as she could.

"Harl?" she called, but the harlequin didn't move. "Fuck. Harley!"

She was bent over her now, shaking her gently. After a few seconds she began to stir.

"Oww... My head hurts..."

"Wake up, Harley," said Ivy, shaking those big blue eyes back open. "Come on, we really need to get back home."

Slowly, shakily, Harley got to her feet with Ivy's help. She picked up her mallet and bag of loot, which had slipped out of her hand as she fell. She felt lucky to have avoided landing on the mallet, but damn did she feel dizzy. Seeing her stagger, Ivy put her arm around her waist and carried her to the car, feeling both worried about her friend and sorely disappointed that their kiss wouldn't go any further.

* * *

Ivy was in the middle of attending to her new hybrid rose when there was an unexpected knock on the door to her greenhouse. She jumped slightly, and then sighed in annoyance. Whoever it was could have made her slip and hurt her precious new baby! The knocking continued and, rolling her eyes, she made her way to the greenhouse door.

"Harley?" she said, wincing slightly as the rusty door squeaked. "Why didn't you ring the doorbell?"

"Sorry, Red – I tried, but you didn't answer," she said with a shrug. Her face was beaming with a radiant smile, her hands behind her back.

"So, what brings you here?" asked Ivy. "Do you want to come in?"

Harley blushed, and a wave of shyness threatened to overwhelm her, but she managed to nod and Ivy led the way through the greenhouse to the living room.

"Close your eyes," said Harley excitedly. "Hold out your hands!"

Ivy was confused, but she did as she was told. She felt a thin pair of strings pull down on her hands and asked, "Can I open my eyes yet?"

"Uh-huh."

Ivy lifted her eyelids and smiled at the grinning woman in front of her, before looking downwards to find a shiny black and red bag in her hands. Inside the bag was a plant pot with a small, round cactus in it. She picked it up and examined it, before smiling at her friend.

"Thanks, Harley," she said. "Really. But what's the occasion?"

"Well..." said Harley, the shyness returning a little. "I just wanted to say thanks for lookin' out for me. All this time you've been the best friend a gal could ask for." She cleared her throat. "And... Ever since you kissed me on that rooftop I got all these feelings which are drivin' me crazy – even more crazy than usual!" She paused, looking at Ivy anxiously. "Should I have stopped talking then?"

Ivy thought her legs might give way as she looked into the nervous blue eyes in front of her. She bent down and put the cactus safely on the floor, before standing to face Harley properly. She had been through this scenario so many times in her head, but now that it was happening she couldn't find any words.

"Red?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just... blown away by you."

Harley giggled. "Wow, I've never seen you like this. Whatcha do with the real Poison Ivy?"

"Harley... Shut up and kiss me."

The harlequin leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly against Ivy's; Ivy pulled her closer and kissed her more deeply, running her fingers all over Harley's back, waist and bum. Her soft body felt good under the skin-tight costume, and Ivy felt good – if a little incredulous – that she was finally allowed to explore it. She gave Harley a gentle nudge towards the sofa; Harley lay down and pulled Ivy on top of her.

As Ivy showered her in kisses, sucking and nibbling her neck, Harley traced her fingers over the other woman's stomach and thighs, her touch leaving a hot trail and a burning desire in its wake. A whimpering moan escaped Harley's lips as the tickle from the hot breath on her neck travelled down to the small of her back. Grinning, Ivy wrapped her hands around her, found the zip on the back of her costume and asked, "Can I?"

Harley bit her lip and nodded; her big blue eyes were moving all over Ivy's body, drinking in every gorgeous detail. "Fuck me, Red."

Ivy began pulling the costume down as Harley tried to wriggle out of it, but it got a little stuck, and both women broke into fits of nervous giggles.

"Well, that went better in my head," said Ivy, moving backwards so that Harley could stand up and get out of the impractical costume. As Harley struggled to get her feet out of the small ankle holes, Ivy removed her own leaf-green leotard and waited for her to get comfy on the sofa again before pouncing on her, lips stretched in a wide smile.

Propping herself up on the cushioned back, she straddled one of Harley's legs and gently traced her fingers over her breasts, waist and thighs. Harley's eyes were practically begging as Ivy traced her hand in circles over her legs and stomach, getting closer and closer to the tidy strip of hair between her thighs. Harley opened her legs slightly and finally Ivy's fingers brushed over the wetness between them, eliciting a hungry moan.

"That feels good," she breathed, thrusting gently into the sensation.

Ivy just smiled and kissed her, and then began rubbing herself against Harley's thigh.

"I can feel how much you like that," said Harley teasingly, but her giggles quickly returned to blissfully uneven breaths. She closed her eyes and put herself at the mercy of the sensation; within minutes she was writhing and crying out – first with pleasure, but then the tears came.

Ivy drew back immediately and asked, "What's wrong, Harl? Did I hurt you?"

Her eyes were thick with tears, and there was a large lump in her throat, so she shook her head emphatically.

"Did I do something else wrong? Please Harley, why are you crying?"

Harley held out her hand to signal "wait" as she inhaled and exhaled slowly to even out her breathing. When she finally got herself together, she looked sadly into Ivy's eyes, and said, "I'm just feelin' a bit emotional, y'know? You're the only person who ever really respected me, and made me feel good about... well, _y'know_. I've never been able to relax with anyone like that before, especially not the first time."

Ivy's stomach dropped, and she felt herself getting angry. _Calm down, Ivy._ She wiped the tears and smudged make-up from her friend's face.

"I'm sorry about whatever happened in the past. If you want to talk about anything, you know I'm here. I'm glad you were able to relax with me though – you know I'll never do anything to hurt you, right?"

Harley sniffed and nodded.

"Oh, Red..." She began to shake with fresh tears, and pushed herself forwards to lie on Ivy's chest. Hot tears carried black and white make-up over her breasts, but she didn't mind; she cuddled Harley close to her.

"Take as long as you need, Harl..."

_I love you_, she added in her head.


End file.
